How we cite our quotes: (Tale.Page)

Quote #4

Quote #5

What!" said the wife. "I'm king, and you're just my husband. I want you to go there at once! And I mean, at once! If he can make a king, he can also make an emperor! Go to there at once!" (The Fisherman and His Wife.70)

Wives are such nags. Why doesn't she give her poor husband (and the wish-granting flounder) a rest already? Okay okay, in all seriousness: what do you think is the point of depicting unhappy marriages in fairy tales?

Quote #6

The king had a daughter who was very beautiful but also very strange, for she had made a vow that she would accept as her lord and master only a man who would let himself be buried alive with her if she should die first. (The Three Snake Leaves.59)

Yeah, strange is one word for it. Aside from the fact that this girl has clearly lost her marbles, this quotes yet another example of the emphasis on marriage as a contract in these tales.